“What I was trying to say,” he whispered, “is that I see you in everything. There isn’t a word for you that means enough, because you’re everything to me.

Not so long ago I picked up the first installment in this series and fell undeniably in love with Perry and Aria, and even Roar. Now it’s a little bit later and the finale is finally out. I can’t say that the gap I had to wait didn’t influence the rating of this book, because it did, but there were many more outside circumstances that played into it as well. I didn’t have any time, so when I did get to read, it was in choppy lengths. I couldn’t find any peace and quiet, which drives me mad when I’m trying to read lol. And I just was soooo tired that I could not completely engage-this novel was expertly written and I truly regret it came at such an exhausting, busy time.

“What brought you out here, Aria?” he asked.
She looked up, right into his eyes. “I needed to find you.”
“I know,” he said. “The second I left you, I felt the same way.”

Perry has done it again, came in and stole my heart with a single sentence proclaiming how much he loved Aria. Everytime I read about him, I melt into a puddle of goo, because really, how sweet is he? How loyal is Perry? He is fierce, protective, caring, kind, and let’s face it-he actually listens to Aria and values her opinons. He never tries to squash her thoughts or make her feel smaller, he puts her above the rest-her opinion means everything to him. And then there’s just his personality…he would put his whole tribe in front of himself, if only to get them another day to live. He is selfless and everything a leader should be, and I enjoyed reading about him dearly.

He was terrible at falling-Roar was right about that-but nothing ever kept him down.

Aria is an amazing heroine. She has flaws, but she is fierce and just as loyal as Perry. She isn’t a completely unbelievable heroine and it’s refreshing to see the realistic and brave lead female in a story. And then there’s Roar. He was still a favorite of mine, but he did grate on me at a certain point in the story. Unnecessary anger, misplaced judgement, and hasty actions almost caused more devastation than was necessary, and it was sad to see him in such a state after the events of book two. Other characters like Brooke, Soren, Talon, and Cinder all made the story that much better. I loved seeing some of them become tolerable and likeable-I ended up loving Brooke and Soren, two of the more annoying characters in previous books. Talon and Cinder were adorable and sweet and it was champ getting to know them on a deeper level.

“I feel like every story you tell me, he gets his nose broken.”
Roar raised an eyebrow. “You’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

So many emotions were pulled out of me-from a deep-hearted tenderness all the way to heartbreak and devastation that had me tearing up from the intensity of it. You won’t know who to trust, you will find yourself second guessing what you do know, and you will be surprised when you are proven wrong about someone’s character time and time again. Every emotion is covered in this story-you won’t be lacking on feeling.

“When I showed up at the cave, you couldn’t even stand to look at me.”
“That’s in your head.”
“It’s not. You’re hardly subtle.” Roar waved a hand. “About anything.”
“You vain bastard. I wasn’t avoiding you. You just sulk whenever you’re not the center of attention.”

The only thing that I think the story suffered from (FOR ME-SPECIFICALLY) was the alternating POVs. What worked flawlessly in books one and two completely hindred my reading in book three. Again-I loved this element in the former books, but I had so much time when I read those. It was beautiful and filled with seamless transitions, making the reader strive to be in either mind they were given. In ITSB, I would pick up the book and read for ten minutes and have to put it down, only to pick it back up two minutes later. What had once been effortless for me became disjointed and jumpy because I couldn’t give it the time of day. And finally, I guess I just never doubted what would happen. There was a bone-deep inevitability that things would happen, and I wasn’t surprised by much. I loved the story, I just didn’t find it altogether unpredictable.

“You think Soren and I saved your life by getting you out of Reverie? We didn’t. We gave you a chance. You have to choose whether you want to live or die, not me.”

Reviews and opinions on books are speculative-remember this. I know with absolute certainty that if I had a good couple hours at a time to read, this would have been five stars and knocked out of the park. But as it is, I didn’t have that time, and the story suffered severely. So even if I SHOULD have been mindlessly in love with it, I wasn’t. It is what it is. I still love this series and will always consider it a favorite. I will come back someday and read the trilogy in a chunk when I have time and re-acquaint myself with Perry, Aria, and Roar. I am sad to see them go, but any more problems and I don’t know that many more people could survive. I am so glad I read this series and gave it a chance-it oozed excellence and individuality.

So that we’re clear,” Perry said, “I don’t care if it means everyone on this earth loses any chance of surviving. If you mention her to me again, I will take your head off and watch your blood pool at my feet.”

Mmmmm protective Perry 😛 ♥

Reading Order & Links:Amazon(click on covers),iBooks(click on titles) & Book Depository(click on book #)

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